I had the chance last Saturday to get out of town for a ride in the Santa Ynez valley. It’s a beautiful area with lots of oak trees, flowers, and wineries. I used to go up there all the time, but it’s been quite some time.
This was the weekend of the Solvang DC. I’ve done it several times and would have done it again, but I had granddad duty Sunday. But I tagged along with some friends who were volunteering on the ride, and was able to do a short ride … from Buellton to Jalama and back.
i haven’t ridden with my friend in a while. I’m her informal mechanic. She mentioned a noise when she was pedaling, and asked that I look the bike over.
pedaling noises are notoriously hard to diagnose, but the first place I always look is the pedals. I reached down to try to wiggle the bearings, and the pedal arm and chainrings deflected almost an inch!
I didn’t have the right tools to fix it, so we went off to a bike shop. Turns out the bolt holding the BB to the crank was almost falling off. Yikes.
That fixed, we headed out in Santa Rosa Road. The scenery is beautiful and the traffic light, but oy … the road is a sucky patchwork of asphalt.
But the weather and the scenery more than made up for it.
Eventually, we got to Highway 1, and turned south, heading for Jalama Road.
Jalama Road is even less busy and has better pavement. It involves a steep climb, and a general descent to Jalama State Beach.
Jalama is a treasure. A state campground literally miles from anywhere. All by itself on California’s Central Coast. It has great surf (relevant to me in my 20s and 30s) and a cafe that makes the famous “Jalama Burger” (still relevant to me now).
Did we share one? You bet! Here’s the evidence.
The trip back was headwindy, but still fun. And we nixed the bumpy Santa Rosa Road in favor of Highway 246. Busier, but boy did we fly with that tailwind. I think all rides should have a happy ending.
I think the total came to about 70 miles and 4500 feet. A great day.
